CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Texas State volleyball team lost 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-19, 25-17) to Western Michigan on the first day of the Xavier Tournament Friday afternoon at the Cintas Center.
 
The Bobcats dropped 1-2 on the season, while the Broncos improved to 2-2 in the first meeting between the two schools.
 
Sophomore Megan Porter led the maroon and gold with 12 kills. Senior Erin Hoppe passed around 31 assists, while freshman Brooke Johnson contributed 11 dimes. Sophomore Mattie Adams had 15 digs, while fellow classmates Micah Dinwiddie and Amy Pflughaupt added 13. Pflugahupt was competing in her first match for Texas State.
 
The first big momentum swing of the match went toward the maroon and gold after TXST fended off three set points to snatch the opener 26-24. With the score initially tied at 12-12, Western Michigan rattled off a solid stretch that saw the side pull ahead 19-13. Texas State crawled back to within three but still faced a trio of game points with WMU on top 24-21. Two service aces from Porter and two emphatic kills from junior Halee Brewer helped spark the rally as the Bobcats won the final five points.
 
The Broncos returned the favor by flipping a 20-17 deficit into a 25-22 second-set triumph to tie proceedings 1-1.
 
Western Michigan never trailed in the third, going on to claim the game 25-19. WMU initially went ahead 12-6 and later found itself on top 20-14. Texas State was unable to get closer than four points the rest of the way.
 
The Bobcats played to a 6-6 draw in the fourth frame, but the Broncos proved to be too much in the final stretches. They jumped ahead 14-7 and won the final set 25-18.
 
Rachel Bontrager had a match-best 17 kills and added 11 digs for a double-double. Sydney Lemay (12) and Olivia Kofie (11) also finished with double-digit kills. Mary Murphy tallied 47 assists, and Kathleen Reilly (20) and Quianna Ware (12) added double-figure digs.
 
Western Michigan led in kills (56-47), attack percentage (.219-.100), assists (51-46), and blocks (16-4). Texas State led the way in aces (5-3) and digs (68-67).
 
Texas State will conclude the tournament with a pair of matches Sept. 2. The Bobcats will serve as the home team in a match against Cincinnati at 9 a.m. (CDT) before facing host Xavier at 6 p.m. (CDT).
 
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